Kind Of Woman That'll Haunt You
by cheri1
Summary: 10/Rose with Fleetwood Mac. The Doctor decides to take Rose to see Fleetwood Mac in concert. But, they arrive and find that something is threatening to take over Stevie Nicks's mind and possess her. Can the Doctor and Rose save her before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I debated whether or not to do this story, but I'm gonna give it a shot because the plot bunny is just nagging away in my mind. I'm an enormous fan of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks, and Lindsey Buckingham and I actually wrote a ton of Stevie and Lindsey fanfics before I got hooked on Doctor Who. I wanted to combine two of my greatest loves, so this is the result. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter One

Rose yawned and stretched when she heard her alarm clock go off. It was the beginning of another morning on the TARDIS.

"Mornin' TARDIS," she said.

The TARDIS nudged her mind.

"Doctor in the console room?"

The TARDIS rumbled.

"Thought so," she said.

She got dressed quickly and headed toward the console room.

When she got there, she found the Doctor dancing around the console while Stand Back blared from his CD player. She stood by the back door, giggling, while he jiggled his hips and waved his arms around.

"Stand back; stand back, in the middle of the room. I did not hear from you," he sang.

He noticed Rose standing there and threw up his arms.

"Stevie Nicks, the Queen of Rock and Roll! Gotta love her!"

He resumed dancing. Rose, grinning from ear to ear, hurried over and danced around the console with him. The song ended and both of the leaned against the console, laughing.

"Now that's one good way to wake up!" she said.

"I'm glad you approve because I was thinking we could take a day off and go see Fleetwood Mac in concert."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. See, I've seen just about every major group or singer in my 901 years. Everybody from Buddy Holly to The Beatles, Elvis to The Eagles, Joplin, Hendrix, Morrison, all the greats, and I've met most of them. But, I have yet to meet Fleetwood Mac. So, how about it? Fancy seeing them in London, Rumours tour, 1977?"

"Sounds great," Rose said.

The Doctor gave her a million watt grin.

"Then, my faithful companion, slip on your boots, put on your top hat, and throw a shawl around your shoulders. We are '70's bound."

He did his usual manic dance around the console while Rose sat in the captain's chair and watched.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(July 27th, 2009, Los Angeles, California…)

Stevie Nicks let out a yawn and took a swig from her water bottle. They had arrived in Los Angeles the night before and had stayed in hotels while the roadies set up the stage. Now all of them were there for a full run through of the show, making sure that everything was set up properly and all the equipment was working. Stevie hated getting up early to do this, but she would rather get it done early and get it out of the way for the day, than do it just before show time, when her nervous stomach was in overdrive.

Still, for all the hassles that touring brought, she wouldn't trade life on the stage for anything. Even better, they had convinced Christine McVie to join them this time, which was Stevie's prerequisite for touring again with the Mac. The last time they had toured was in 2003 and Christine had declined the offer to work on the CD that preceded it and do the world tour. Stevie had missed her terribly and had put her foot down when Mick suggested getting the band back together for another tour. Last time she had been the only woman in the band and although she had her fellow backup singers and friends, Lori and Sharon for company, she still missed her best friend, not to mention she felt outnumbered against the three men. Now, she had someone to talk girl talk with and she didn't feel like she was the token female in a boy's club.

She turned a corner and headed down the hallway that led to their dressing rooms. As she neared them, she saw Lindsey Buckingham coming out of one of the rooms.

"Hey, Steves, mornin'" he said, cheerfully.

"Morning, Lindsey," she muttered.

Lindsey raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah, I can already tell you're not in a good mood this morning," he said, dryly.

"Lindsey, I'm barely awake. I just got up an hour ago, got dressed, and came down here for the rehearsal. I haven't had a cup of coffee yet, so I'm sorry if I'm not dancing and skipping down the halls with a big smile on my face. Being sixty years old does that to you!"

"And being fifty eight is completely different?" Lindsey countered, "I'm not exactly in my heyday either, but at least I can muster up enough energy to give you a cheerful good morning!"

"Ugh! Not now! I don't wanna get in an argument with you this early in the morning!" Stevie said.

Lindsey's mouth dropped open.

"I'm not arguing, Stevie. I'm only saying hello. You're the one who's turning it into an argument!"

He held up his hands when Stevie glowered at him.

"Alright, alright, I'm backing off. I don't want to fight any more than you do. I'll let you wake up in peace."

Stevie sighed.

I'm sorry, Linds, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just that I didn't get much sleep last night."

Lindsey's irritated look melted away and he came closer to her.

"What's wrong, Steves?" he asked, in a concerned voice, "hip bothering you again?"

Stevie shook her head.

"No, I…had another dream last night."

Lindsey understood. His former lover had psychic abilities and most of the time that ability came through in her dreams. She had been able to take advantage of that and use what she saw to spark ideas for some of her songs. But, there were some dreams that had also foretold the future, specifically the deaths of those closest to them. She had seen the death of her best friend, Robin, just before it happened, and the death of her dad, not to mention his dad, brother, and mother. He knew if a dream was causing her to lose sleep, it must be something significant.

"What was the dream about?" he asked.

Stevie glanced at him. Most of the time, she was hesitant about telling anyone what she saw in her dreams. But, Lindsey was different. She had known him since she was eighteen years old and even though he was now married with a family of his own, she still loved him deeply, and she knew that there was still a special place in his heart for her. They fought like lions from time to time, but they had also been through all kinds of hell together. They had known poverty when they lived together in a dingy little apartment, trying to make it big as Buckingham Nicks before Mick Fleetwood finally discovered them and asked them to join his band. They had suffered through drug abuse, alcoholism, the pleasures and pain of overnight mega-stardom and came out the other end of all that, alive and sane. Lindsey could be headstrong, temperamental, irritating, and exasperating, but when push came to shove, she knew she could truly count on him to be there for her in every way. He was the only one of her band mates that she could trust completely, that she felt truly understood her, knew her as well as she knew herself, which was why she had no qualms about telling him her dream.

"I…saw this weird, blue phone booth," she said, "but, not a phone booth like we have in LA. It was a big wooden box with little frosted windows and I think it said something like police box around the top of it."

She glanced at Lindsey. He nodded, and she went on.

"The front door of this phone booth opened and a man and a woman came out. The man was tall and thin with unruly brown hair. He looked like a man, Linds, but there was something…alien about him, like he was somehow not of this world. The girl was young, late teens, early twenties with blonde hair. But, I didn't get the same feeling about her that I did with the man. The man seemed ancient somehow, although he looked like he was only in his thirties. Ancient and alien, oh, it gives me the chills just describing it."

She looked at Lindsey. He still hadn't said a word, but she could tell he was taking all this in and weighing it in his mind.

"There's more, Linds," she finally said.

She came closer and put her hand on his arm. Lindsey noticed the fear in her eyes and put his hand on top of hers.

"Go on, Stevie," he said, gently.

Stevie looked into his blue gray eyes.

"I sensed something else about this man," she said, "I sensed…an aura of death around him. It hung heavy on him like a shroud."

She shivered at her words. She neared even closer to Lindsey and put her other hand on his chest.

"Lindsey, this man, he's coming. I can feel it. He's heading towards us and when he comes…death will follow."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The TARDIS door flung open and the Doctor bounded out the door.

"Welcome to the 1970's, Rose!" he said.

"Are you absolutely sure it's 1977, and not 1877?" Rose asked, stepping out behind him.

The Doctor gave her a hurt look.

"That…was a once in a lifetime fluke that will not be repeated," he said.

Rose snorted.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

The Doctor sighed, shut the door, and took her hand.

"Come along, I'll prove to you it's 1977," he said.

They walked out of the alley and looked around. Rose groaned. She knew right away that this was not London and it definitely wasn't the '70's. She gave the Doctor a pointed look.

"They have Nintendo Wii's in 1977, eh?" she said, pointing to a nearby billboard.

"Yes, they were a well kept secret in 1977 in…"

He looked around at the buildings.

"Wherever we're at," he finished.

Rose sighed and pushed past him. She noticed a discarded newspaper sitting on a bench. She picked it up, glanced at the date, and walked back to him.

"Los Angeles Times, July 27th, 2009. Nice try, Doctor, but you're off by about 32 years, not to mention you're on the wrong side of the Atlantic. I swear to God, I could ride a blind, drunken horse through the vortex and it would get to destinations better than your TARDIS could."

"Now wait just a minute!" the Doctor said, angrily, "my TARDIS is reliable and she has taken us to the exact locations we wanted…87.94 percent of the time, but still, that's better odds than the blind, drunken horse."

Rose sighed.

"Well, as long as we're here, we might as well make the most of it, yeah? Wanna go get some chips, somewhere?"

The Doctor's eyes boggled.

"What is it with you? Everywhere we go, you have to eat!"

"I wouldn't be talking if I were you, at least when I order something, I don't wolf it down in two big gulps and go back for more," she said, "besides, you like chips as much as I do, so don't complain."

The Doctor shrugged.

"Ah, well, I guess we can add ate chips in LA to our ever-growing list of chip spots," he said, "besides, now that you've said something, I do feel a bit peckish. So, let's go see if we can scope out a place to eat…and bring the paper with us. I like to scan it and see what's going on, at this moment in time."

Rose handed him the paper and they went off in search of a place to eat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting across from each other in a booth in a small diner. Luckily, the Doctor carried small amounts of different kinds of money and credit sticks on his person at all times, so they would never be short of cash. Both of them had ordered burgers, chips, and a small Coke. Rose was munching on a chip, staring out the window at the people passing by, while the Doctor read the paper. She glanced back at him and noticed a grin spreading over his face.

"What?" she asked.

The Doctor turned the paper around and showed her the front of the entertainment section. Rose read the headline.

FLEETWOOD MAC ROCKS THE STAPLES CENTER TONIGHT.

"Well, well, Rose. Apparently, we will get to see them in concert, after all," the Doctor said, happily.

"You don't want to go back and see them during the Rumours tour?" she asked.

"Nah, this is fine. Actually, I'd prefer to see them now. There are some songs I love that came after Rumours. This way we'll be able to see them perform all their greatest hits."

"I can't believe they're still touring after all these years. How old are they now?"

The Doctor scanned the article.

"Stevie's 60, Lindsey's 58, Christine's 66, John's 64, and Mick's 62."

"Geez, they're really old now."

The Doctor raised his eyebrow.

"You do realize you are saying that to a 901-year-old man, don't you?"

"Yeah, well, you can regenerate, they can't," she pointed out.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean they aren't capable of still putting on a great show. They may be in their late fifties and sixties, but I seriously doubt any of them are using a cane right now. Actually, at this point in time, they are all past their drug and alcohol problems, so we'll get to see a concert where they aren't stoned out of their minds, which wouldn't have been the case back in 1977. Just, trust me, Rose. We'll have a great time."

"I know we will. I always have a blast whenever I'm with you."

"Well, I'm happy to hear that," the Doctor said, "and, in addition to seeing them, I have another brilliant idea."

"Which is?"

"I'm gonna use my little 'ol psychic paper to help us get backstage and meet them personally. I believe you and I will pose as journalists for a small, independent music magazine and land ourselves a one-on-one interview with the band."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After getting directions to the Staples Center, the Doctor and Rose hurried back to the TARDIS. The Doctor insisted that Rose dress up a bit in order to convince the band they were legitimate. Rose went up to the wardrobe room, looked around, and found a white blouse, grey skirt, and matching jacket. She took the clothes back to her room, put the outfit on, put her hair up in a bun, put on some hose and black flats, and applied some light makeup. She walked into the console room and noticed the Doctor had changed into his dark blue suit with white plimsols. He looked over at her and whistled softly, staring at her with approval.

"Very nice, Rose, you clean up good," he said, "you need to wear this all the time."

"Not on your life. I hate dressing up. Once we do this, I'm going back to jeans and t-shirts."

The Doctor made a face, but said nothing.

"Well, I checked online and there's a local rock magazine called All Access. So, we'll be posing as journalists for them. I asked the TARDIS to make up some press passes for us, so we'll be able to get through security."

He held up a laminated badge. Rose recognized the picture from one that she and the Doctor had taken while they were exploring Cirrus. It had Press at the top in big bold letters, and her name, and All Access magazine underneath that. The Doctor clipped it onto her lapel and did the same with his.

"There. Now, we are ready for our exclusive interview with Fleetwood Mac. So, my fellow journalist, shall we go over the Staples Center and meet the band?"

"Yup!"

The Doctor linked arms with her and smiling, the two of them headed out the front door.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

At last, she had made it through. She had escaped the Deep Darkness and returned to the real universe. But, she knew she wouldn't be safe for long, she had to hide, had to find a way to bring her brothers and sisters back from the nothingness the Eternals had banished them to and she had to find someone who could help her, someone she could hypnotize and use to open a rift between the realms. Then, once that was achieved, the Ban'shi's would once again resume their conquest of the universe.

There was only one place for her to go. The Ban'shi's had been plentiful on Earth at one time before the Eternals had banished them. They had found refuge among the primitive humans. The humans in turn had corrupted their name, calling them Banshees, Bean Sí, and Bean Shìth, claiming that they were fairies. The Ban'shi's greatest weapon was their voice. With it, they hypnotized the primitive humans, captured them, and killed them if they tried to interfere in their affairs. The humans would occasionally hear their hypnotic scream and find a dead person afterward, which led to the myth of the Banshee wailing just before a person died, a superstition the Ban'shi encouraged. The superstitious Earthlings both feared and revered the Ban'shi, which allowed them to thrive, increase their numbers, and formulate a plan to spread out from Britain around the world, and then onwards towards the stars.

They nearly succeeded; both they and the humans they captured and converted into Ban'shi numbered almost 500. They had been hiding underground, all over Great Britain and Ireland, biding their time until they could begin their invasion of the surface world. But, the Eternals learned of their plans and banished them to the limbo of the Deep Darkness. They had languished there ever since, howling in frustration at the dark, and trying to find a way out.

Then, one day, it happened. She had been flying through the void, when she noticed a gap form between realities. It happened every so often. A crack would occasionally open between the Deep Darkness and the larger universe. Normally, the cracks would only stay open for a few seconds before the universe repaired it. It was an extremely rare occurrence. One had to be present at the right place at the right time to slip through before the gap was sealed shut.

That is what happened. A tiny rift tore open in front of her. Seizing the opportunity, she dove towards it and went through. But, before she could call to her brothers and sisters to follow her, it closed back, leaving her alone in the universe.

Unsure what to do, she flew towards Earth. But, as she neared the familiar blue green globe, she suddenly realized that it would be a mistake to return to Great Britain. If the Eternals learned of her escape, that would be the first place they would look. She began to search elsewhere and decided to focus on the United States. As she neared it, she looked at the country, trying to decide where to go. She opted to go to the side nearest the Pacific Ocean. She scanned the western portion of the country and noticed a great deal of pollution centered in one area near the ocean. That meant that there was a high population density, all the better to hide from her pursuers. Smiling, she floated down towards it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The security guard was wary. He was standing at the back door eyeing the two journalists who claimed to be from All Access music magazine.

"I don't recall anyone saying that people were coming here to interview the band," he said to them.

"No?" the Doctor said, "well, supposedly the receptionist was going to call over here and let you guys know we were coming. Are you sure they did and you just didn't get the message?"

"I suppose that's possible, but highly unlikely. If there were an interview today, security would be informed of it. Now if you can make a call to All Access and have them call us and confirm, then I'll be more than happy to let you in, but until then, I'm sorry. Good day."

The security guard turned, went inside, and slammed the door shut.

"So, now what do we do?" Rose asked.

"Now, we wait ten minutes."

"Why? What happens in ten minutes?"

"Hopefully, the guard will be away from the door and then…"

He reached in his pocket and pulled out his screwdriver.

"I use my all-access pass," he finished, with a wink.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Stevie let out a tired sigh when they finished Gold Dust Woman and the roadies applauded them. They had nearly reached the halfway point in the set and she needed to use the restroom badly.

"I'll be back, guys. I gotta pee," she said.

She walked past Lindsey towards the backstage area. Lori, Sharon, and the back-up band followed her out, needing to use the bathroom and get something to drink and eat before they continued. Lindsey yawned, slipped the guitar strap off his neck, and rested his Rick Turner guitar against the dais that held Mick's drum kit. He stretched his back while John wandered over to chat with Christine.

"Phew, we're finally to the halfway point in this tour," he said to Mick.

"Don't tell me you're giving out already, Lindsey," Mick said, grinning.

"Well, let's just say I'm thankful this tour isn't a full year like it was back in the old days. Unfortunately, I'm not as young as I used to be."

"Oh, don't give me that. You're the bloody baby of the group. All the rest of us are in our '60's."

Lindsey snorted.

"Yeah, that makes me feel so much better," he said, rolling his eyes while Mick sniggered.

"Well, you know, since we are taking a break, you need to be making a pee run with Stevie."

"Nah, I'm a manly man. I can hold it, unlike Miss Fragile Flower."

Mick's eyebrow rose, as Lindsey giggled.

"Fragile Flower? You sure we're talking 'bout the same woman, mate?"

They glanced at Christine when she walked over to the dais.

"Hey, you guys know anything about an interview?"

Mick and Lindsey looked at each other.

"Uh, no, what kind of interview?" Lindsey asked.

Christine gestured behind her.

"Man and woman are standing over there. They're saying that they are from All Access magazine and they're here to interview us."

Lindsey stepped back from the dais while Mick stood up and leaned over his drum kit. The man and the woman were standing at the edge of the stage, looking around. The man waved at him, cheerfully, when he locked eyes with him. Lindsey put his hands on his hips.

"You know anything about this, Mick?" he said.

Mick shook his head.

"No, not a thing. Even if we did have an interview scheduled, it wouldn't be in the middle of the run through."

"That's what I figured. Leave it to me, guys. I'll handle this."

He walked towards them.

"Can I help you two?" he said.

"Yes," the man said, extending his hand, "John Smith, journalist with All Access magazine. This is Rose Tyler. We were sent here to get an interview. Our magazine is one of the hippest in LA and we are really excited that the Mac is touring again."

He lowered his hand when Lindsey didn't shake it. He gave him a warm smile when Lindsey scrutinized them both silently.

"First off, Mister Smith, we are not aware of any journalists from All Access coming to interview us. Secondly, even if we did grant you guys an interview, which we didn't, we wouldn't schedule it in the middle of rehearsal. We are trying to do a run through of our show before tonight. The only reason we aren't playing right now is because Stevie and most of the band is off taking a break. I'm sorry that All Access sent you here with the understanding that we would grant you an interview. We are the ones who have the final say on who talks to us and we never gave your magazine permission. So, I'm afraid you just drove over here for nothing."

Rose glanced at the Doctor, suddenly fearful they were about to spend the rest of the day sitting in a jail cell for criminal trespassing. The Doctor, however, remained unfazed.

"Do you mind if we watch the rehearsal, then?" he asked.

"Yes, we do mind."

"Please, I promise you we are legit. I have my credentials with me if you would like to take a look."

"I'm not concerned about your credentials. What I have a problem with is you two showing up here when you are not expected. Now, if you go back to All Access and have them call, then perhaps we can set up an interview in the next day and a half. But, until then, the stage is off limits. So goodbye and good--"

"Lindsey!"

Lindsey jerked his head around when he heard Mick's voice. He saw Stevie standing on the other side of the stage, trembling with a ghost-like pallor to her complexion.

"Stevie? Are you alright?" Lindsey asked.

She responded with a voice that was as shaky as her body.

"Oh, my God," she said, pointing, "that's them."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Lindsey crossed the stage with four huge steps and grabbed Stevie when she looked like she was about to faint. Everyone ran to her, including the Doctor. Rose, still hesitant about provoking anyone and getting arrested, stayed where she was.

"Stevie? Are you alright?" Lindsey asked.

She noticed her fearful gaze and followed it over to the Doctor.

"Buddy, I thought I told you to scram!" Lindsey said, angrily.

"I want to help, I have medical training."

Lindsey's eyebrows nearly reached the top of his head.

"You're a journalist, and you have medical training?"

"Yeah, I switched subjects halfway through university. The point is, I can help. Now, Ms. Nicks…"

"No! Get away from me! Get away from us!" she yelled.

Lindsey stared at her, perplexed.

"Steves, what's wrong? You're as white as a sheet."

"It's him, Lindsey!"

The band members looked at each other.

"Him? Him, who?" Lindsey asked.

Stevie hesitated and leaned into him. The Doctor frowned when she mouthed something to Lindsey.

"The death bringer," she mouthed to him.

The Doctor's frown deepened. He noticed the shocked look on Lindsey's face. Lindsey glanced over at him and then looked back at Stevie. The Doctor read his lips when Lindsey mouthed back, "the guy from your dream?"

Stevie nodded.

Intrigued, the Doctor neared closer to her. He stopped when he noticed the panicked look on her face. Lindsey, meanwhile, was completely dumbfounded. He mouthed something back to Stevie and the Doctor read his lips.

"This geek is the guy who carries death on him like a shroud?" he mouthed to her.

Stevie nodded.

A smile slowly spread over the Doctor's face. He suddenly had a hunch about her and decided to try a little test. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the psychic paper.

"I assure you, Ms. Nicks, you have nothing to fear from me and Rose," he said, opening the wallet, "I'm a journalist from All Access. These are my credentials."

He held up the psychic paper, so everyone could have a look. Lindsey stared at him and shrugged.

"That's nice, Mister Smith, but just because we can see your credentials doesn't mean you can stay, and--"

"What credentials?"

Everyone looked at Stevie who was staring at the paper, totally confused.

"Uh, those credentials right there," Lindsey said, pointing to the psychic paper.

"That's a blank piece of paper, Lindsey," Stevie replied.

Lindsey was taken aback.

"No, it's not. It says right there, press pass, and it has his name, and information, and photo."

"No, it doesn't, it's blank," Stevie insisted.

Lindsey stared at her as if she had lost her mind. He looked at the others.

"Isn't that his press pass?" he asked them.

Everyone nodded and murmured, "Yes." Stevie looked at all of them and eyed the Doctor who had an enormous grin on his face.

"I was right about you," she heard him mutter.

Stevie glanced at the others and inched closer to the Doctor. Squaring her shoulders, she looked him right in the eye.

"Who are you?" she demanded, "and don't say, John Smith, that's a load of bullshit. Who are you, really?"

The band members glanced at each other and then stared at the Doctor, intently. The Doctor smiled. Reaching out, he contacted her telepathically.

_Do not be afraid, Stevie. My name is the Doctor._

The rest of the band saw Stevie's eyes widen for a moment and then, they narrowed.

_Doctor who?_ She thought back.

The band members jerked their heads at the Doctor when they heard him let out a delighted laugh. Ignoring their befuddled looks, he concentrated on Stevie.

_You are psychic._ He thought to her. _Extremely psychic._

_Yeah, I am._ She thought back. _Who are you?_

_You saw me in your dreams?_

Yes, I did.

What did you see?

I saw you, that girl, and a blue phone booth.

She inched closer to him.

_I also saw an aura of death around you and I can sense it now._ She thought_. Whoever you are, I won't let you hurt me or the ones I love. _

_I mean you no harm, Stevie. I mean none of you any harm, I promise. _

Stevie gazed into his eyes.

_You are not from this world._

The Doctor smiled.

_No, I'm not.  
_  
Stevie raised her eyebrow.

_You're shitting me.  
_  
The Doctor chuckled.

_No, Stevie, I'm not._

The band members were completely confused. From what they could tell, Stevie and the strange man was standing in front of them having a very intense stare-down.

_Why are you here?_ Stevie thought.

The Doctor smiled.

_I'm a huge fan of you and your band, Stevie. My friend, Rose, and I came to meet you and watch the concert tonight.  
_  
Stevie's eyebrow rose.

_You came from outer space to watch a Fleetwood Mac concert?  
_  
The Doctor grinned.

_Actually, I'm a time traveler. The blue box you saw was my time machine._

Stevie shook her head in disbelief.

"Steves, what's going on?" Lindsey asked.

Stevie ignored him.

_You…are a time traveling alien?_

Yes.

Is the girl an alien too?

No, she's human. She's my traveling companion.  
  
Stevie glanced at her and looked back at him.

_I believe you. I know it sounds completely crazy, but somehow I believe you._

The Doctor smiled.

_You have advanced psychic abilities. That's what helped you become a great songwriter and it's why you could see through the psychic paper._

You mean those credentials you flashed?

Yes, that's psychic paper. It links with my mind and shows people what I want them to see. But, people with advanced psychic abilities or a high level of intelligence can see through it.  
  
An amused grin crept over Stevie's face.

_So, when everyone else saw your so-called credentials. They were actually seeing it?_

Yup.  
  
Stevie giggled. Lindsey frowned.

"What's so funny, Stevie?" he asked.

"Gee, Linds, guess you aren't a genius, after all," she said to him.

Lindsey's mouth fell open.

"What's that supposed to mean, Nicks?" he said, angrily, "what the hell is going on? Why are you standing there, staring at this guy?"

"Because I'm talking to him, Lindsey, telepathically."

Her band members stared at her in shock.

"What?" Lindsey said.

"You heard me."

"You and the geek have been talking to each other in your minds?"

"Yes."

Lindsey narrowed his eyes.

"You know, Stevie, I think your hunch is right. I think the guy should leave."

_Stevie, please._ The Doctor thought. _I won't hurt you. This aura of death you can sense, it does surround me because of what I do. But, I'm not going to hurt you, or Lindsey, or anyone else. All Rose and I want to do is watch the show and then, we will leave.  
_  
"Stevie, get away from this guy!"

"Lindsey, shhh," she said to him.

"I thought you were freaked out by this guy. I thought he was a threat to us."

_I'm not, Stevie, I swear. You can sense that, I know you can. Please, just let us stay and we'll leave tonight and you won't ever see us again, please._

"Stevie, I'll go get security and they'll throw--"

"No, Lindsey, let him be. Let them stay."

Everyone stared at her, shocked. Lindsey glanced at the Doctor. He grabbed Stevie by the shoulders and pulled her off to the side.

"Stevie, what's going on?" he hissed.

"Lindsey, trust me. The Doctor and Rose aren't a threat."

Lindsey frowned.

"Doctor? I thought his name was John Smith."

"No, he calls himself the Doctor."

"So, he's lying then."

"Yes, but I understand why, Linds. He's not going to hurt us."

"I thought there was an aura of death around him."

"There is, but I was wrong about him. He won't hurt us and neither will Rose. All they want to do is see the show and then leave, let them stay."

"Stevie, this is insane."

"You don't know the half of it."

She held up her hand when Lindsey started to speak.

"Just, trust me, Lindsey. They'll leave after the concert tonight, I promise."

Lindsey sighed.

"Alright, Stevie, it's your call. I'll back you up if the band objects, but you better be right about this."

Stevie glanced at the Doctor.

"Trust me, Lindsey, it'll be worth all the trouble of having him around for the day," she said to him.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

After fifteen minutes of intense argument, the band finally relented and let the Doctor and Rose stay. Mick told them to sit in the front row. Rose was still wary, especially when the band members glared at her. But, the Doctor merely stretched his feet out, put his hands behind his head and relaxed.

Soon, Rose forgot her anxiety and the band forgot them, as they went through their set and discussed changes in between songs. Finally, after an hour, they were finished and the Doctor and Rose applauded. The band gave them polite smiles. All of them put their instruments down and left the building to rest up for the day. Stevie grabbed Lindsey's arm when he started to leave.

"Come with me," she said.

Lindsey followed her while she walked over to the Doctor and Rose. She sat down in the seat beside the Doctor.

"Please tell Lindsey what you told me," she said.

She looked at Lindsey.

"And please listen to him. I know what he has to say sounds incredible, but he's telling the truth."

Lindsey looked into her eyes. He nodded and knelt down beside her.

"Okay, so, what did you tell Stevie?"

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Lindsey listened in stunned silence while the Doctor told him what he had told Stevie. He didn't say anything until he had finished.

"I can't believe this. I mean, normally, I would have you committed. But, I trust Stevie. I trust her intuition and if she believes it, then I will too."

"I will not hurt any of you. Rose can vouch for that."

"But, Stevie said she felt that death was gonna follow you. Is that part of her vision true?" Lindsey asked him.

The Doctor sighed.

"I won't lie, deaths do have a tendency to occur around us, but that's not due to me…most of the time. We tend to get into trouble wherever we go and we end up fighting monsters or evildoers and sometimes people do die, that's just the nature of our job. We travel around, helping people who need it and fight against the darkness and injustice in the universe."

"And this blue box Stevie saw. That's the TARDIS thing?"

"Yes."

Lindsey looked at Stevie.

"Steves, you know if we tell the others, they won't believe it."

"That's why we won't tell them who the Doctor really is, it'll be our secret. Just keep quiet until they leave, then we'll tell them. I told you because I knew you wouldn't freak out."

She looked at the Doctor.

"I hate keeping this from my band, but Lindsey and I go way back. He knows me and knows how psychic I am, so that's why I felt it was safe to let him in on what you told me."

The Doctor nodded.

"Well, like I said, I've been a fan for a long, long time and we've had a couple of stressful days, so I offered to take her to see you in concert."

He grinned.

"Actually, we were aiming for the Rumours tour, but my TARDIS has a mind of its own sometimes, and we ended up here."

Lindsey and Stevie glanced at each other.

"Well, gee, sounds like you need a new time machine," Stevie said.

"Nah, I'll never replace her. TARDIS and I go way back. 'Sides, it's better this way. I get to hear all your greatest hits, not just the ones from the Fleetwood Mac and Rumours albums."

"Well, we're a lot calmer now too," Lindsey said, "back then, it was a very crazy time."

Stevie snorted.

"That's an understatement," she said.

She looked up at the stage and watched the roadies who were walking around, checking equipment.

"Listen, we're done here for now. So, why don't you come with Lindsey and me and we'll give you a tour of LA and get something to eat?" she said.

The Doctor beamed.

"Oh, I would be honored," the Doctor said, happily.

"Yeah, me too," Rose added.

Stevie looked at Lindsey.

"My limo or yours, Linds?" she said.

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The Doctor could barely contain his excitement. Here he was, sitting in Stevie Nick's limo, listening while she and Lindsey gave him and Rose a tour of the city. Looking at them, he was glad they finally accepted him and Rose. He always hated to lie to people, especially when he had to keep it going for an extended period of time.

"Thank you so much for doing this," the Doctor said to them.

Stevie smiled.

"Our pleasure. It isn't every day you get to meet a time traveling alien."

"Well, it's not every day you get to meet a couple of rock legends," the Doctor replied.

Stevie blushed.

"I just didn't realize aliens knew about us," she said.

"Are you kidding? You guys are brilliant!"

Stevie shared a grin with Lindsey.

"An alien fan, who knew?" she said to him.

She glanced out the window for a moment and then beamed when an idea popped into her head.

"Listen, I have a house here in LA. I'd really like to go home for a bit, see my dogs and get something to eat there. Is that alright?"

The Doctor's face was brighter than the sun. Rose giggled.

"I think he's okay with that," she said.

"Okay, we'll stop at my house and take a break, then."

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Rose's mouth fell open when she saw the interior of Stevie's house.

"Oh, my God, this is incredible," she said.

She looked over at the Doctor who looked like he had just won the biggest lottery in history. She ruffled his hair and he winked at her.

They heard the sound of dogs barking. Stevie's face lit up.

"My babies! There you are!" she said, bending over when two yorkies ran to her, "oh, I missed you."

She smiled when the dogs licked her furiously on both cheeks. Lindsey rolled his eyes and grinned.

"Her dogs. She can't live without them," he said.

"No, I can't. They're my babies," she said.

She pointed to them.

"This is Sara Belladonna and the smaller one is Sulamith."

Lindsey looked at the Doctor and Rose.

"See, you can tell the woman is a poet. She can't even give her dogs normal names like Fluffy or Spot."

"Can it, Lindsey," Stevie said, when everyone laughed.

They looked over when a young woman with long, black curly hair walked up to Stevie.

"Hey, Karen, great to see you. My babies behave while I was gone?"

"Yup, like little angels."

"Good."

Stevie turned.

"Guys, this is Karen, my personal assistant. Karen, this is the Doctor, and Rose, and you know the elderly geezer, of course."

The Doctor and Rose giggled when Lindsey flipped her off. Stevie smiled.

"Well, if you guys come this way. You can sit in the living room and Karen and I will find us something to eat."

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An hour and a half later, after Stevie gave them a quick tour of her mansion, the four friends sat in the living room eating cheeseburgers and chips. Stevie and Lindsey listened, awed, while the Doctor and Rose told them more about themselves and recounted some of their adventures. While they talked, Stevie kept looking at Rose, completely floored that this young woman was brave enough to go time traveling with an alien and fight monsters alongside him. At first glance she didn't look like she'd be able to handle the danger, but Stevie could sense the power and strength that flowed deep within her. She had to admit she felt a little jealous that she got to do all of this. Inwardly, she thanked God that these two had decided to come see them.

Rose, on the other hand, was sizing up Lindsey and Stevie while she was talking to them. Lindsey had a rugged face with graying hair and beautiful blue eyes that reminded her of her other Doctor's eyes. Even though he was in his late fifties, Rose thought he was still very handsome. Stevie, though, was gorgeous. She had to admit she didn't know too much about the band. Her mother had the Rumours album and she had grown up listening to the songs on it. She loved the picture on the album cover and knew what the band looked like since there was a group photo on the back. Stevie had been pretty in the '70's, but time had definitely been kind to her. Looking at her face with its almost smooth alabaster skin, she figured that Stevie had probably had a face-lift at some point. But, even so, she had a natural beauty about her that most women her age would kill to have. Her soft brown eyes matched the Doctor's and her long, flowing honey blonde hair reached halfway down her back. There was an aura of sophistication and elegance around her and Rose couldn't help but think of an old time Hollywood actress when she looked at her. But, at the same time, there was a down-to-earth, motherly feel about her and the more time Rose spent with her, the more she liked her.

She sat beside Lindsey, lazily stroking her dogs while they lay in her lap. Occasionally, Stevie would lock eyes with her and gave her a warm smile which Rose would return in kind.

They continued to talk for another hour or so before Lindsey's cell phone suddenly went off. He looked at the display.

"Kristen, I'll be back," he said, getting up.

Stevie nodded. Lindsey excused himself and walked out. The Doctor looked at her.

"Kristen?" he said.

"The wife."

The Doctor's lips formed an O.

"Are you married?" Rose asked.

Stevie smiled.

"Only to my career," she said.

"You've never married?" the Doctor asked.

Stevie gave them a sad smile.

"I was married back in 1983 for all of two seconds," she said. "The whole thing was a very ill-advised move on my part. Other than that, no, never been married."

"Not even to Lindsey?" Rose asked.

Stevie smiled.

"Not officially. Although, when we lived together before joining Fleetwood Mac, we considered ourselves married in all but name."

A wistful look passed over her face.

"You still love him," the Doctor said.

"Yeah, I do. But, unfortunately, we have a problem co-existing together most of the time. Both he and I are independent, headstrong people who want our own way. We butt heads on nearly everything. We both care for each other, but we would drive each other insane if we lived together. It's a strange relationship we've got. Like I said, I trust Linds with my life, which is why I let him in on what was going on. We'll always have a deep bond, but I couldn't put up with him constantly around me and he feels the same. We both need our space or we'll be at each other's throats in under a minute. But, what about you guys? You have time to date people while you're running from these Dalek things?"

"Dating's not my thing, too domestic," the Doctor said, waving his hand.

"Not a homebody?"

She chuckled when the Doctor shook his head vigorously.

"He hates it. Domestic life scares him. I threaten him from time to time, telling him we're gonna get a mortgage and buy a home."

"Wow, that's cruel," Stevie said, eyes twinkling.

"Yup, she's a mean little git, but I put up with her."

Stevie locked eyes with him.

_You love her, don't you?_ She thought to him.

The Doctor smiled.

_Yes, I do._ He thought back.

_Thought so. I can tell. I'm glad you found someone. You seem like a nice guy._

Thanks. I try to be.

They looked over when Lindsey came back in the room.

"Sorry about that. She knew I was back in LA today and wanted to talk to me. Plus, I had to talk to my kids, say hello."

The Doctor nodded, as Lindsey sat back down beside Stevie. Looking at them, the Doctor suddenly had a thought.

"Listen, Stevie, you were kind enough to show me your house, so why don't I show you ours?"

"Your house?" Stevie said.

"The TARDIS."

Stevie and Lindsey glanced at each other.

"Oh wow, see your time machine, I'd love it," Stevie said.

"Yeah, me too. I'm curious to see what an alien's spaceship looks like."

"Well, actually, spaceships vary from species to species, so what you see isn't representative of all spaceships in the universe, but I consider my TARDIS the very top of the heap in terms of spectacular-ness. So, if you guys are ready, Rose and I can direct you back to the TARDIS and let you take a look."

"Well, Linds, ready to see the alien spaceship?"

"Ready when you are!" Lindsey said.

"Okay, let's go! Show us your ship, spaceman!"

The Doctor grinned.

"Your wish is my command."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The Ban'shi paused to rest on top of a building in the middle of the bustling city. So far, so good. The Eternals hadn't detected her presence. Perhaps with a little luck she could find a way to free her trapped brothers and sisters from their prison and they could finally rule the universe. She crouched near the edge of the building and looked over into an alley. There was a peculiar blue box below her but otherwise it was all clear. She sat there while she considered her options and tried to come up with a plan.

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The Doctor directed the limo to pull up near the alley where the TARDIS was located.

"This is it," he said to them.

"James, wait for us here," Stevie said to her limo driver.

"Yes, Ms. Nicks," he replied.

Stevie opened the door and all of them climbed out.

"Okay," she said looking around. "I'm assuming this ship of yours is very, very tiny since this is a busy city block and I don't see any UFO's anywhere."

"Just follow us," he said.

He led them into the alley. Stevie stopped short when she saw it.

"The phone booth from your dreams," Lindsey said.

She nodded.

"Actually, it's a police box," the Doctor said. "And as for your assumption that my ship is teeny tiny…"

He opened the door and gestured into the interior.

"Take a look see," he said.

The Ban'shi, hearing the conversation, leaned over and studied the strangers intently.

Stevie and Lindsey looked at each other and entered the TARDIS. Their jaws hung open when they saw the interior.

"No way, man. This has gotta be a joke," Lindsey said.

He stepped outside and looked around the side while the Doctor and Rose snickered. He walked back inside and took a tentative step forward feeling around in case it was a hologram.

"Oh my God, Steves, this is real," he said. "How is that possible?"

"Magic?" Stevie said, shrugging.

"Actually, no," the Doctor said, poking his head in. "Not magic at all. It's all science. Time Lord science."

The Ban'shi perked up at that.

"Time Lord?" she said, leaning further over the edge.

She waited until the Doctor and Rose went inside before she drifted down and landed on the top of the TARDIS. She perched there and listened to their conversation.

"My people developed a way to build ships that straddled two dimensions. The police box is my front door and that's sitting in your dimension. The rest of the TARDIS here is in another dimension."

"You mean, we're in another reality right now?" Lindsey said to him.

He nodded.

"Whoa!" he said as he and Stevie exchanged a look.

Stevie walked over to the console and stared at it.

"What's this?" she said.

"That's my console. It's my controls for the ship."

She raised her eyebrow as Lindsey came up behind her.

"How do you even figure out what control does what? Looks like a bunch of junk to me," she said.

"Well, like I said, she's a very old ship. I kinda had to substitute worn out parts along the way with whatever I could find," the Doctor said as he and Rose came up beside them.

She walked around and stared at the jump seat then took a look at the monitor. She frowned when she saw the concentric circles on the screen.

"Odd patterns," she said.

"Actually, that's my language, Gallifreyan."

He backed up when Lindsey came around and looked with her.

"Wow, that's interesting," Lindsey said.

"What's does it say?" Stevie said pointing to it.

"Just giving our current location," he said, shrugging.

"And you can go anywhere in time?" Lindsey said.

"Time and space," the Doctor said, proudly.

He smiled.

"Would you like a quick ride somewhere?" he said.

They stared at him.

"My driver, James," Stevie said, pointing to the door. "He's waiting on us."

"No worries, I can have you back here at this exact same spot and he'll be none the wiser," the Doctor said.

"Um…weren't you the one who said you were trying to go to our concert in 1977?" Stevie said.

Rose snickered when the Doctor shifted uneasily.

"Yes, well…that was a slight miscalculation on my part. But I promise I will bring you back here so you can get to your concert tonight and your driver won't have to wait a thousand years for ya. So, how 'bout it? Fancy a trip through time and space?"

The two musicians glanced at each other and nodded.

"Brilliant. So where d'ya wanna go? We can go anywhere, anytime in the whole universe."

Both of them stared at each other.

"Um…where do you wanna go, Linds?" Stevie said.

"How 'bout we go find you so you can tell yourself not to start using cocaine and save us and the band years of misery and hell," Lindsey said.

"Nope, sorry, can't do that. Let me amend my statement. Anywhere, anywhen except back on your personal timelines because there's a danger you could mess up your futures or cause a paradox that'll destroy all creation."

"Oh, well on second thought, we won't go see Stevie's younger self then," Lindsey said as Stevie rolled her eyes.

They looked at each other.

"Where do you wanna go, Linds?"

"I don't know. Pick something."

"Do you wanna go back in time or to a planet?"

He thought and shrugged.

"I'd really like to see another planet. There's nowhere in time that I really want to go to. At least nothing comes to mind right now."

Stevie looked at the Doctor.

"Do you have any good ideas for planets we could go to?"

"As a matter of fact I do."

"Well, you pick then. You're the expert. Just take us to a planet."

"You got it. Just have a seat and rest your feet cause I'm gonna take you someplace neat," the Doctor said, bounding towards the door.

The Ban'shi quickly flew back up to the rooftop and watched while the Doctor closed the doors.

"Time Lord and his TARDIS," she murmured. "I could use him to free my brothers and sisters."

She watched while the TARDIS dematerialized and waited for their return.

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Stevie and Lindsey both gasped when the TARDIS rocked back and forth. Rose sat down next to them and they watched while the Doctor danced around the console flicking switches and pressing buttons. Stevie looked at Rose.

"Bit bumpy," she said.

"Yeah, you get used to it, trust me!" she said, nodding.

"How long have you been traveling with him?" Lindsey asked.

"A little over a year," Rose replied.

"Does he know what he's doing?" Lindsey said.

The Doctor paused.

"Course I know what I'm doin', Lindsey," he said with a hurt look. "Just relax. I'll get you there and back, I promise."

The TARDIS stopped moving and powered down.

"There we are, all safe and sound," the Doctor said, happily.

"Yeah, but where are we?" Lindsey said.

"Ariarellis."

Both of them frowned.

"I've never heard of that planet," Stevie said.

"Ooooh, it's waaaaay beyond the Milky Way galaxy cross the known universe. You lot have no way to discover it yet. But I wanted to show it to you because I think it'll interest you, being musicians and all. Ya see, the citizens of the planet adore any form of music and they love to sing and perform for others every chance they get. Perfect environment for a pair of singers like yourselves."

Lindsey and Stevie grinned at that and got up from the jump seat along with Rose. The Doctor grabbed his coat from the nearest support column and put it on while they walked to the door.

He threw it open and the sounds of harmonious singing wafted through the door. Stevie's breath caught in her throat when she heard the angelic voice.

"Follow me," the Doctor said.

They stepped outside and looked around. They were standing on a white marble street while all around them were pristine marble structures that mimicked Roman architecture. Nearby there was a large marble amphitheater and that was where the singing was coming from. They walked over to it and sat down on the top row of marble benches. The inhabitants had sky blue skin with long white hair that was shoulder length on the men and went down to the middle of the back and further on the women. All of them were wearing white togas and roman type dresses and the audience sat and listened to a woman singing a love song while a couple of males sat behind her playing a lyre and a flute. Both musicians sat and listened, spellbound, with the audience while the Doctor nudged Rose and they shared a grin. They applauded when the woman finished singing and bowed.

"Thank you, everyone," she said, "and now my latest composition. I hope you like it."

She stared another song. It was at that moment that Stevie realized she was speaking English. She pointed this out to the Doctor who chuckled.

"My TARDIS has translation circuits that'll translate anything into English for us and their native language for them. Right at the moment we're speaking Ariar."

"Really?" Lindsey said.

"Oh yes, that's what they're hearing whenever you speak."

The musicians shared a look.

"You are just amazing," Stevie said to him.

Rose rolled her eyes when a smug grin spread over his face.

"That's it, stroke his ego and make him feel even more important," Rose said as they laughed.

They listened to the woman sing and clapped when she finished her song. She bowed and left the stage. Stevie looked over at the Doctor when he poked her in the side.

"Go up there and sing something," he said, nodding at the stage.

Her eyes widened.

"Would they let me?"

"Oh yeah, they're music lovers. They don't care what species you are as long as you can sing. Go ahead."

Stevie glanced at Lindsey.

"Go on, Steves," he said. "I dare ya."

Stevie rolled her eyes. Hesitantly, she stood up and the Doctor stood up with her.

"Are you gonna go through with it?" he asked her.

She nodded.

"Everyone, can I have your attention, please?" the Doctor said, clapping his hands to get their attention. "I have a friend who is an excellent singer and she'd like to sing for you. So could you please give her your support? My friend, Stevie Nicks!"

Everyone applauded including Lindsey, the Doctor and Rose. Stevie smiled and walked down the steps to the stage. She got up to the front. The applause died down and the Doctor, Rose and Lindsey sat back down. Stevie cleared her throat and began to sing an a cappella version of Rhiannon. The audience listened enraptured and when she finished everyone gave her a standing ovation and called for more. Stevie beckoned to Lindsey and he came down and stood beside her. They both did an a cappella duet of Big Love and again the performance was greeted with thunderous applause and cheers. Both of them bowed deeply and walked back up to their friends while everyone congratulated and complimented them on the way up.

"That was amazing," the Doctor said as he and Rose stood up.

"Thanks, Doctor. Thanks for doing this for us," Stevie said. "Except I don't think the rest of the band will believe us when we tell them."

He chuckled.

"Would you like to see around the city a bit more?"

They nodded and the Doctor led them away from the amphitheater.

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After walking around the city and sampling some of the local food, they headed back to the TARDIS and the Doctor took them back home.

"Earth is gonna seem small now after seeing that," Stevie said to Lindsey while they sat on the jump seat.

"I just hope the rest of the band will believe us and don't throw us in the loony bin," Lindsey replied.

The TARDIS stopped and the Doctor bounded towards the door. He threw it open and looked over his shoulder when everyone followed him.

"There ya go, said I get you back just after we left and here we are," he said, stepping away from the door.

They stepped outside and Stevie laughed when she saw the limo. She walked over and looked at James who was sitting and reading a magazine while he waited. She walked back over and took the Doctor's hand.

"Thank you for that, Doctor," she said.

He beamed and squeezed her hand.

"My pleasure," he said. "Consider that our payment for the concert tonight."

She smiled.

"No payment is necessary. It's an honor to know you both," she said. "But, now if you'd like to come with us, we can go rest up in my house before the concert starts."

The Doctor nodded. He shut the TARDIS doors and they followed Lindsey and Stevie back to the limo.

Up above, the Ban'shi watched them intently. She waited until they got inside the limo before flying up into the sky and following them.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Once they got back to Stevie's house, Karen showed them inside and got the Doctor and Rose something to drink while Lindsey went to the kitchen and got himself a beer. Karen brought out a couple of cans of Lipton iced tea for the Doctor and Rose. They thanked her and she smiled and left. A few minutes later, Lindsey came into the room.

"Stevie needs to lie down for awhile before the concert but she'll be back in a few hours," he said, popping the top of his beer. "She always does this. The woman stays up during the night and sleeps most of the day if there isn't a tour going on. Plus, she needs to rest her hip."

"Oh really? Why?" the Doctor said, concerned.

Lindsey rolled his eyes.

"Her right hip has bothered her for several years now. Went to a chiropractor to have her back worked on and the dumb shit screwed up her hip somehow. She can walk but she has trouble climbing if there are a lot of stairs and it aches on occasion. Hell, despite all that the woman is sixty one and better off than some of the people her age. Sometimes it's hard to believe she and I are in our sixties. Seems surreal."

He took a sip of beer and smiled.

"Course you don't have to worry about that, being time travelers and all."

"Well, I do age chronologically but my body doesn't. It'll stay this way until I regenerate."

"I envy ya, man. Wish I could do that. It's a bitch growing old. But playing guitar keeps me young just like dancin' and twirlin' keeps Steves young. And...you're very lucky to be here at this time if you wanna hear our greatest hits. That's all we're playing on this tour. We don't have a new album to support, although we are thinking about making another one after we get done touring. But we figured that since we had so many hits from past albums, we'd give the fans what they really want just this one time. Where are you going after you get done here though?"

"Not sure," the Doctor said, shrugging.

"We just go to places on the spur of the moment," Rose said.

"Ah, couple of free spirits. I like that. I used to be able to do that before I finally settled down and had kids. Steves, on the other hand, will never get married and does go off on the spur of the moment to anywhere she wants. Thank God for cell phones because alot of times I don't know where she's at. She usually doesn't stay here by the way. She has a condo she likes better than this place. She's only back here because we're in LA at the moment."

"You're happily married then, I take it," the Doctor said.

"Yeah, I love my wife and kids. But...deep down, I still wish Steves and I coulda made it work. I love her just as much as my family. She was there before all of this back when we were two crazy kids living in squalor while we chased our dream. Hell, we could probably fit the place we lived in into Stevie's bedroom now. We had our arguments and our problems but we also had each other and even though we've tried to walk away from one another at several points in our lives, it never works because we have a bond that runs so deep it transcends time. Stevie believes in reincarnation and believes that we've been together through many lives. I'm not entirely sure about that but I like the idea of being in different bodies and bugging the shit outta her over the centuries."

He grinned when the Doctor and Rose chuckled at that and took another sip of beer.

"But enough about me. What are some of the things you've seen in your travels?" he asked.

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Stevie lay under the comforter on her bed staring up at the ceiling while her dogs lay beside her, snoring softly while they slept peacefully. She had tried to go to sleep for about the past hour but her thoughts kept drifting back to the Doctor and Rose and her heart ached knowing that they would leave them after tonight and she'd more than likely never see them again. Despite loving her career as a musician, the whole idea of getting inside the TARDIS and seeing other planets and time periods thrilled her and once more she felt a twinge of jealousy that Rose got to travel with such a remarkable man while she stayed grounded on the Earth.

"But wait, he's in a time machine," she said aloud.

Her dogs woke up at the sound of her voice and she stroked their backs when they came over to her, sniffing at her face.

"Sorry, babies, I didn't mean to wake you," she said to them. "Mama was just thinking aloud."

The yorkies lay back down beside her and stared at her with their dark eyes.

"I was just thinking," she said to them as they wagged their tails, "that he has a time machine and he could take Linds and me for a couple of trips and come back to this exact same time period. I mean, I know he made a mistake when he overshot the Rumours concert but he demonstrated that he can land accurately because he brought us back to this day. I would like to ask him if we can go with him. It's just that...I don't want him to leave after knowing what he is and seeing his ship and that beautiful planet. I wonder if Rose was the same way. Rose saw some of the wonders out there and was hooked from that moment on."

She leaned over and smiled at her dogs as they wagged their tales harder.

"Not to mention the man is cute for an alien," she said to them. "I can see why Rose would wanna travel with him because if I was thirty years younger I'd be flirting with him like crazy. Damn, he didn't land back in '77 when I was young enough to have a shot at him."

She chuckled to herself as her dogs licked her face affectionately.

"Well, I'm not gonna be able to get any sleep with the time travelers downstairs," she said to them as she sat up on the side of the bed. "I might as well take a shower and start getting ready for tonight. I'm sure Linds is boring them to death with all the talk of how he's a genius, eh girls?"

She patted their backs when they wagged their tales. They jumped down off the bed and followed her into the adjoining bathroom. Both of them sat and stared up at her while she turned on the shower and adjusted the water temperature to her liking. While she did that, she sung Silver Springs to herself. She paused a moment when she got to the lyric, time cast a spell on you so you won't forget me, and thought of the Doctor.

"You know what, girls?" she said to her dogs. "I might have to write a song about our new friend. Yup, the old mad songwriter gets another idea for a song, who'd a thunk it?"

She frowned when her dogs began to growl and bare their teeth.

"What is it?" she said. "Girls, what's wro..."

She trailed off when she suddenly got a funny feeling she was being watched. She turned and gasped when she saw a white alien floating behind her. The woman resembled a ghost with long flowing white hair and piercing black eyes. She couldn't see any legs or feet. The bottom of the ghost looked like a ragged dress that swayed to and fro beneath her. Stevie stared up at the female entity, frightened of it, while her dogs growled and barked to drive it away.

"Who are you?" Stevie managed to get out.

"I am the Ban'shi."

"What do you want?"

"I want the Time Lord and his TARDIS. I want to free my sisters from their eternal prison. I want this world and I want the universe. But in order to do all that, first I want you!"

Stevie gasped. She spun around and screamed as she felt the Ban'shi grab her around the waist from behind. Then she froze and the dogs barked furiously as the Ban'shi melded with Stevie's body and entered her, becoming one with the singer. For a moment, Stevie's eyes became as dark as the Ban'shi's had been and a twisted smile spread over her face. Then, with a groan, she lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor as everyone in the house cried out her name and ran to her aid.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"STEVIE!"

The bathroom door was flung open and Lindsey ran in followed by the Doctor and Rose.

"Oh God!" Lindsey said as he fell to his knees beside her. "Stevie? Stevie, baby, wake up!"

The Doctor knelt down beside him while Rose lured the yorkies into the bedroom. To their relief, Stevie let out a groan and slowly opened her eyes.

"Stevie? Are you alright?" Lindsey asked.

"Yeeeah, I think so," she muttered.

"What happened?" the Doctor asked.

Stevie struggled to think but she couldn't remember anything except coming into the bathroom and turning on the shower. She glanced over at the running shower and frowned.

"I musta slipped on a wet patch or something," she muttered as both men helped her to her feet.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Lindsey asked.

"No, I'm fine," Stevie said, shaking her head.

"How's your hip?" the Doctor said.

Stevie was taken aback for a moment and then snorted.

"I see Blabberbutt told you about it," she said as the Doctor chuckled.

"Just making polite conversation while you were napping," Lindsey said, quickly turning off the water before he helped the Doctor escort her back to bed.

While they were doing that, Stevie gave them annoyed looks.

"I'm 61, not 81, for Christ's sakes," she said. "I'm fine, honestly. I can walk on my own."

"Back to her usual cheerful self, I see," Lindsey said dryly as they let go.

Stevie eyed him.

"I wouldn't talk if I were you, Buckingham," she said as she sat down on the side of the bed. "I realize you boys are concerned for my well-being, but I'm perfectly fine."

She had a thought and looked at the Doctor.

"You are a boy, right?" she said, pointing to him.

"Um, last time I looked," the Doctor said as Rose bent over laughing.

"Hey, you're an alien so I'm just checking. For all I know, females have penises on other planets."

"Only the Kajunga but they're warlike like the Greek Amazons and make war on their neighbors, the Dagunda. They use the penises to impregnate each other to ensure the purity of their race."

Stevie stared at him for a moment and looked over at Rose.

"Is he for real?" she said as they laughed.

"Most of the time, yes," Rose replied.

Stevie sighed.

"Well, anyway, I'm fine, my hip is fine and don't you think about cancelling the show tonight, Buckingham. I'm well enough to go on."

"Yes…Ma'am!" Lindsey said, doing a crisp salute.

Stevie shook her head.

"Love em, but he can be a total sarcastic pain in the ass sometimes," she said to the Doctor.

"I wouldn't talk if I were you, Nicks," Lindsey said in a sing-song voice.

He coughed nervously when Stevie gave him a look of death.

"And on that note, I think it's time for another beer," he said.

The Doctor chuckled as he quickly left the room. Stevie shook her head.

"Like I said, I love em but I can't be with him because I would be constantly punching his lights out."

"Are you sure you're alright, Stevie?" the Doctor asked, concerned.

"Yes, yes, Doctor, I'm fine," she said, amused. "Men. Always rushing to help me like I'm some helpless little waif. I've slipped and fallen before. It's nothing."

"Stevie, you said you slipped on a wet patch?" the Doctor said.

"I guess so. I'm really not sure what happened in there," Stevie said.

"Because I don't see any wet patches," the Doctor said, hooking his thumb back at her bathroom.

Stevie looked in and saw he was right. She frowned.

"Maybe there was something on the floor. I thought I passed out but I really don't know," she admitted.

The Doctor turned her face to his and studied her closely. Stevie raised her eyebrows.

"You know you have pretty eyes?" she asked him.

Stevie chuckled when the Doctor blushed at that. She watched as he pulled his sonic screwdriver out and scanned her.

"What's that?"

"My sonic screwdriver. I'm running a scan to make sure you really are okay."

Stevie looked at Rose.

"He just doesn't give up, does he?"

Rose laughed.

"No, he won't stop until he's sure you're okay."

"Hey," she said, tapping him on the head, "cutie pie. For the hundred zillionth time, I'm fine."

They giggled when the Doctor blushed again and put his screwdriver back in his pocket.

"Yes, well, better safe than sorry, you know," he said.

"Yes, but I am capable of diagnosing myself without an alien doodad," she said. "I do know when to stop myself from performing and this is not one of those times. Honest to God, I…am…fine, okay?"

The Doctor nodded and Stevie smiled.

"If you don't mind though, I'd like to investigate your bathroom and see if I can determine the cause of your fall."

Stevie shrugged.

"Knock yourself out…ooo, wait, bad choice of words considering what just happened. Sorry."

The Doctor chuckled. He rose and went into the bathroom while Rose sat down next to him.

"Your friend is very tenacious," Stevie said to her.

Rose chuckled.

"You have no idea," she said.

Stevie leaned in.

"And he's handsome if you don't mind my saying so."

Rose nodded.

"That he is."

She leaned in further into Rose's ear.

"You and him make a very cute couple," she said.

Rose blushed at that. Stevie chuckled.

"You're in love with him. I been writing love songs for nearly forty years now so I know the signs. Have you and he…"

Rose shook her head. Stevie had a sudden idea.

"Listen, Doctor, Rose and I want to get a cup of tea while you tear apart my bathroom. So go ahead and tear it apart. We'll be downstairs if you need us."

"Go right ahead," the Doctor said, looking up as he kneeled on the floor beside the shower.

"Come on, Rose, let's talk," Stevie said to her as they got up.

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They and the dogs went downstairs to the kitchen. On the way, they passed by Lindsey who was watching a football game on her TV. He waved to them and smiled and they passed by on into the kitchen. Stevie declined Karen's offer when she asked if she could help make the tea.

"That'll be all, Karen. Rose and I can take it from here," she said. "Just let me know when we have to leave for the Staples Center."

Karen nodded and walked away while Stevie rummaged in her cabinet for a box of tea. Rose sat down at a nearby table and looked around.

"Your house is gorgeous," she said to Stevie.

"Thanks but frankly, it's a little too big for me now. I have a smaller condo and I love that. With my condo I can walk into it and feel like a big international superstar. Here, I feel like an old woman who doesn't know what to do with herself."

Rose laughed.

"You're not that old, Stevie," she said.

"I'm old enough. Herbal tea alright?"

Rose nodded and she got down two ceramic mugs.

"Anyway, as I was saying, according to the entertainment industry, I'm practically a dinosaur. They all want younger people nowadays that can prance around and show off their bodies like Britney or Christina. People like me and Cher and Madonna, we're yesterday's news now. Not to mention the whole industry is style over substance. No place for me anymore. But I and the band still have our dedicated fans who stay with us year after year and that's who we're doing this tour for. And as for prancing around and showing off my body, I prance around but I refuse to make myself look like a whore in order to sell records. I wear long dresses on stage and I still get men screaming that they want to fuck me…pardon my French," he said as she filled a tea kettle up with water.

Stevie gave Rose a sideways glance and gave her an impish grin.

"Let me guess, parents had the Rumours album when you were growing up but you don't listen to my stuff or Fleetwood Mac."

"Um…well…yeah," Rose said embarrassed.

"Not a fan? Shame on you!" Stevie teased.

Rose giggled when she winked at her.

"I'm guessing your alien friend dragged you here then?" she said as she put the kettle on the burner.

"Well…no. I mean this was his idea but I love going wherever he goes."

Stevie raised her eyebrow and Rose chuckled.

"Which brings me back to the reason why we came down here. I mean, apart from the fact he's not your species, why aren't you and him in a relationship? And if I'm prying, tell me to go to Hell. Don't let the fact that I'm a rock legend keep you from cussing me out and calling me a nosy old bat."

Rose laughed as Stevie leaned on her kitchen island and grinned at her. With each passing moment, she liked her more and more.

"I do fancy him and I would like to have a relationship. And I think he fancies me and we have kissed and hugged. But I don't think he'll ever take it to the next step."

"Why not?" Stevie asked.

She noticed Rose's eyes misting over. Concerned, she came over, pulled up a chair beside her and sat down.

"A few months ago, I met a former travelin' companion named Sarah Jane and it shocked me because he never mentioned takin' anyone else along with him and I got angry, you know?"

Stevie nodded and Rose swallowed before going on.

"I confronted him in the car park outside this coffee shop and told him that I thought I was the only one and why he never mentioned Sarah Jane to me before and he told me…"

Rose took her hand and squeezed it. Rose smiled gratefully and swallowed hard.

"He told me what he told Lindsey. He doesn't age physically, he regenerates. Um…he does it, I s'pose, when he's fatally injured because it happened about a year after I started travelin' with him. There's this light and it shoots out of him and he changes his whole body. Here…"

She went and got her purse, came back and sat down. Stevie watched while she pulled out a little black photo album, thumbed through it and found a photo of her and the Doctor's ninth life. She showed it to Stevie while she explained about him being the Doctor and finished her explanation of regeneration.

"He was handsome in this life too," Stevie said when she finished and paused for a moment. "So…regeneration is kinda like reincarnation while you're still alive."

Rose nodded.

"Yeah, that's a good way to put it."

Stevie smiled and handed the photo album back to her.

"More I learn, the more I'm glad you two decided to see us in concert," she said.

The kettle whistled and Rose waited till Stevie had fixed their teas and brought them to the table before she went on.

"Anyway," she said, after taking a sip. "He told me that since he doesn't age that he would watch as I aged and died and it was too painful for him. He said to me, imagine watching that happen to someone who you…"

"Love," Stevie finished.

"Yeah, except he didn't say it. He cut himself off but I could tell that's what he wanted to say. But he calls it the Curse of the Time Lords. He thinks that he has to be alone because he's the only one of his kind now and he's gonna outlive everyone else."

"Yes, but very few people who are in love die at the same time. Invariably, one's gonna outlive the other in a relationship. It's just a part of life. It would be nice to both go at the same time but that's not how the world works. So I don't understand his fear. I love Lindsey. I love him with all my heart and I've known the man since I was eighteen years old and in that time I've watched him grow old and it hurts to see him get gray hairs and wrinkles and know that he's slowing down and he's not the youthful man he once was and I understand the Doctor's fear of that and losing someone to death because as close as Lindsey and I are, if he goes first, I'm gonna go out of my mind because he's been so much a part of my life for forty plus years now. But I'm not gonna stop caring about him just because he might die one day. I would rather see him die and know that he was a part of my life than to never know him at all because as frustrating and as aggravating as he can be, he's one of the best things that has ever happened to me and I thank God every day that we met and we're still together, even if it is in a platonic sense. But you know, Rose, when you said he called it a curse, that hit home for me because that's how I view Linds and me. We love one another so very much but we can't be together because God made us both headstrong, independent, temperamental people. We can't live together or be married because of that but we can't walk away from one another either because neither of us can't live without the other in our lives. And believe me, Rose, we've tried since we split up in 1976 to stay away from each other but fate always brings us back together in some way or another and eventually we stopped fighting it. That man in the living room is the love of my life, my soulmate, the only man I've ever truly loved but he and I are doomed to be apart because we just can't…compromise and submit when it's needed. We both want our own way all the time and we fight tooth and nail to get it and believe me, we've had monumental, knock down, drag out, everybody clear the room fights and you'd think that would be it for us but we just keep getting drawn back to one another. Anyway, what I'm trying to say in my long winded way is I know where you're coming from, Rose, and it hurts me inside that you love this man and he loves you but there's this unspoken barrier between you that won't allow you to be together. And I don't claim to know him or you, this is just from what I've seen and heard with a little intuition thrown in but he's gonna end up alone someday, Rose, I just know it."

Stevie squeezed her hand and gave her a hug when Rose teared up at that.

"I'm sorry I made you cry, Rose," she said when they broke apart.

"No, I'm glad you're here talking to me. I mean, I've wanted to say this to someone for a long time now, ever since he told me that because I also have the same fear that he's gonna end up alone and I don't want that. He lost all his people, Stevie. There's this Time War that he fought in and in order to end it, he had to destroy his entire planet."

"Oh my God," Stevie said, horrified.

"Yeah, so he's the only one left of his kind and I'm worried about him. He pretends not to need anyone but deep down inside he's like a fragile little boy."

Stevie snorted and nodded as she jabbed her finger towards the living room.

"I think you and I are a lot alike," Stevie said, taking her hand. "I think we both are dealing with men who are a little neurotic who think they don't need anyone and have to put up a brave front when in reality they're like little man children who need their mommies to comfort them."

Rose nodded and brushed a tear away from her face.

"Yeah, I agree with ya about that. The Doctor pretends he doesn't need anyone but there's been a few times when I'd have to come and hold him because he was upset about something and wouldn't tell me what it was."

Stevie nodded in understanding.

"Done the same for Linds," she said. "Not so much after we broke up since he ran to other women for that but when we were living together before we became famous, there were many times when I would have to hold and soothe him because one thing or another got to him. His father died on Valentine's Day during the gas shortage of 1973. He was in a long line waiting to get gas and had a heart attack and died in the car."

"Oh God," Rose said while Stevie nodded.

"We were living together at the time and it wasn't pretty when Lindsey got the news. He clung to me pretty much the whole day and night while I comforted him. Is that sorta like what the Doctor would do?"

Rose nodded.

"He wouldn't cling the whole day and night but yeah, he was a lot like that. Thing is, most of the time he'd never tell me what was wrong, he just wanted to be held. Lindsey too?"

"Yup," Stevie said. "But like I said, after we split up, he started dating other women and they pretty much filled in for me when that happened."

"And you didn't do that with other people?" Rose asked.

Stevie smiled.

"Maybe my dad a couple of times. Me, I journal. I have tons of journals and I write everything down. So when I got that way, I'd journal or write a song or draw a picture and that helped me cope. Well, that and a big old dose of cocaine but that headache ended in 1986 when I finally got clean."

She smirked.

"Then I went to see a shrink who put me on Klonopin to help me sleep and I started taking that like vitamin C and got hooked on that for eight years and went into rehab a second time. So my life has been one big barrel o' fun, that's for sure."

She smiled when Rose giggled at that.

"And trust me, I don't even touch aspirin now because I'm one of those addictive personalities and I found that out the hard way. But in all seriousness, Rose, I really do hope you and he can get past this whole Time Lord barrier thing and make it work because it's not often you find someone like that. Someone that you know you're meant to be with and there shouldn't be any reason why you should be together. Course…God has a strange sense of humor I found out but in my opinion," she said as Rose laughed. "I, personally, think there should be no barriers between soulmates. But what do I know, I'm old and crusty."

"You are not," Rose said as she laughed with Stevie.

"No, I do try to impart what I've learned to the younger generation, particularly the female singers out there who should never go through what I went through and make the mistakes I did but occasionally I help the odd non-singer who's in love with a time traveling alien too."

Rose chuckled and smiled warmly at her.

"You know, you're right, I never was a fan of yours and now I'm sorry I wasn't because you're wonderful, Stevie. You're down to Earth and kind and gentle and funny as hell."

"Why thank you," Stevie said. "I like you too, Rose. You're also all that and courageous and intelligent. You have to be if you're going to go travel planets and time periods with an alien man child basket case."

Rose laughed at that and she gave her hand a squeeze. She glanced over when Lindsey came in the kitchen.

"And speaking of alien man child basket cases," she said loudly.

Lindsey froze and flipped her off as Rose laughed.

"Up yours, Nicks," Lindsey teased.

"Yes, Dear, I love you too," Stevie said as Rose laughed harder.

Lindsey looked around.

"Where'd My Favorite Martian get to?" he asked.

"Oh, he's probably dug a big hole in my bathroom floor by now searching for what made me fall," Stevie said as Rose nodded in agreement. "And I think it's nearly that time so why don't we go get him so we can go back to the arena and get ready for the concert tonight."

Rose nodded and Stevie gave her hand one more squeeze while she winked at her. Getting up, they and Lindsey walked out of the kitchen and headed back towards Stevie's bedroom.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: This story is a bit AU because even though Fleetwood Mac did tour this summer, Christine McVie wasn't with them. I started this story when there was just a rumor of a tour and at the time Stevie said in an interview that the only way she would do the tour is if Christine came back (She quit the band in 1997.) Well, she didn't come back and they still did the tour so I guess Stevie changed her mind but in this story, Christine is with them so just a friendly note to explain.

Chapter Nine

The Ban'shi was thrilled. This woman she was inhabiting was getting close to the female, Rose Tyler, the companion of the Doctor and through her relationship with Stevie, the Ban'shi would be able to get back inside the TARDIS and take control of it. Once that was done, she would force the Doctor to open a gateway between this universe and the prison where her sisters waited and then they would conquer all of creation.

For the moment though, she kept quiet and let the human have control of herself. When the time was right, she would show herself to the Doctor and by then it would be too late.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rose was so excited. She had been to several concerts with the Doctor but they had never gotten to go backstage and hang out with the bands. Now both she and him were friends of the band...or at least two of them. Rose remembered the chilly reception they got from the other three members and wondered if they would be angry with Stevie and Lindsey for letting them come backstage with them, especially since they thought they were nosy journalists looking for a story and the fear of being discovered increased the closer they got to the Staples Center. She finally asked Stevie about them. Stevie smiled and patted her hand.

"Don't worry about them, Rose. Lindsey and I will vouch for the two of you. They trust our judgment, especially since they know we're also leery of journalists."

"Although, truthfully, it's not as bad as it was in the old days," Lindsey said. "Back then we had nine or ten interviews in a day."

Stevie blanched at that.

"Yeah, plus recording and rehearsing for our tours..."

"Out promoting your Stevie and Lindsey dolls?" the Doctor added.

Stevie started to correct him and then saw the mischevous gleam in his eyes. She chuckled at that.

"Yeah...that's right, we did have those dolls, didn't we, Linds?" she said while the Doctor and Rose laughed.

"Yeah, we did. Those were really popular," Lindsey said. "Especially when we were crappy on stage and people threw them at us. You haven't lived until you get hit in the head with a naked Stevie Barbie doll."

Stevie laughed.

"Yeah and of course we had all the clothes and buttons and stickers..."

"And cereal," Rose said, playing along.

Stevie let out a deep throaty laugh.

"Yeah, the Fleetwood Mac cereal with added frosting to represent all the cocaine we did," she said while Lindsey sniggered.

"And the cereal was in the shape of little tambourines and boots and penguins," he said.

They all laughed.

"Thanks, guys," Stevie said. "I don't know about Lindsey but I needed that laughter. I get very nervous just before we go on stage and it's nice to have someone laughing, makes me feel better."

"Don't speak too soon, Steves. The butterflies will be back with a vengence," Lindsey said.

"Don't I know it," Stevie said, shaking her head.

"You still get nervous after all these years?" Rose asked.

"Oh yeah. I'm fine once we get going and I'm out there. Then I'm having too good a time to feel nervous. It's just the anticipation that kills me."

The limo pulled around to the back of the arena. Once they stopped in front of the backstage door, James got out and opened the door for them. The Doctor and Rose followed them out and inside the building. Inside, the backstage area was cramped, smelly and depressing. The walls were bare and painted an off white color and the floor was old and scuffed. Roadies and other personel walked around, talking to one another or carrying equipment. The Doctor held Rose's hand as they followed Stevie and Lindsey to their dressing rooms. As Rose looked around, she sensed the Doctor's eye were on her and turned to see he had a huge smile on his face.

"Exciting, isn't it?" he said to her.

"Yeah, it is. It's busy back here," Rose said.

"That's because they're all scrambling to be ready by show time," Stevie said, looking back at them. "They tend to sluff off sometimes when they're supposed to be working which means that they have to hoof it when it gets close to curtain time."

"Trust me, there's been times when they've worked right up to the last minute and barely got everything in place before the show starts," Lindsey said. "Just watch it or someone will plow right into ya."

They turned a corner and saw Mick leaning up against the wall outside the men's dressing room. His eyes bulged when he saw the Doctor and Rose.

"You're bringing them backstage?" he said in disbelief.

"Chill out, Mick, they're with us," Lindsey said, holding up his hand. "We've gotten to know them both and they're cool."

"Alright, mate, if you say so," Mick said, leaning up.

They paused outside the men's dressing room.

"Rose, come with me. You can keep me company while I get changed," she said.

"And you...can hang with us men," Lindsey said to the Doctor. "You don't wanna be around all those frilly foo foo dresses and shawls of hers."

"I'll show you frilly and foo foo in a minute, Buckingham," Stevie said as they laughed.

Stevie caught the little hand squeeze that the Doctor gave Rose and she ached for her new friend, wishing that he would do more to show his affection. But she kept silent and led Rose further down the hallway to the women's dressing room. Stevie opened the door and Christine jerked her head around.

"Hey, wondered when you'd get here," Christine said to her.

She fell silent when Rose hesitantly peeked inside.

"Come on in, Sweetie, it's okay. Christine, this is Rose. I've gotten to know her and she's a wonderful woman. We invited her and the other journalist backstage to hang out with us. Rose, this is Christine."

"Pleasure," Christine said, nodding.

Rose nodded in return as Stevie shut the door. While Christine went back to applying her makeup, Rose watched while Stevie looked all around the room.

"Where's Kim with my stuff?" she asked Christine.

"She'll be here in a minute. She went to the loo," Christine said to her.

"Kim's my wardrobe woman," Stevie said to Rose. "Um...have a seat on the couch and try not to barf at the sight of two old women undressing."

"Make that one old woman, my dear. I've already got my kit on," Christine said.

Rose sat down while Stevie walked over to the vanity table, picked a bottle of water out of a cooler beside it, opened it and took a sip.

"You want some water or soda, Hon? We have bottled water and Coke and Sprite in here."

"Um...Coke'll be fine."

Stevie plucked a Coke out of the cooler and walked over to her. Rose thanked her and sipped it while Kim came inside pushing a rack filled with dresses, shawls and boots.

"Kim, this is my friend, Rose. This is Kim, my wardrobe lady."

Both Rose and Kim exchanged pleasantries while Stevie selected a long black dress and black platform boots from the rack. Kim walked over to help her get it on while Rose sipped her Coke.

"So where are you from?" Christine said, glancing at Rose. "London?"

Rose nodded.

"Yeah, lived there all my life," she said to her.

"I was born in Cumbria but I've lived in several places in England and then here in LA. But I moved back to England after I first quit the band in '97. I don't like living here. I don't like the traffic and I hate the earthquakes, they scare me to death."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Rose said.

"I'm doing this mainly because Stevie asked me to. Touring isn't as fun as it used to be. I'm getting too old."

Stevie chuckled.

"She says that and then she gets out on stage and has a blast," she said to Rose.

"Okay, I admit being on stage is fun but the traveling and rehearsals in between is rubbish. That, I can do without," Christine replied.

She went back to applying her makeup as Stevie stepped out from behind the clothes on the rack. Rose's breath caught in her throat when she saw her outfit. Her honey blonde hair was arranged so it was draping down the front over her breasts. In addition to the dress and boots, she also had on velvet gloves.

"How do I look?" Stevie asked Rose.

"Brilliant."

She grinned.

"Thank you," she said.

She walked over to the vanity and sat down beside Christine. While they were chatting and applying their makeup, Rose suddenly heard the Doctor laughing outside in the hall. She opened the door and saw him standing there, leaning up against the wall while he chatted with Lindsey, Mick, John and a few other people she didn't know. The Doctor, sensing someone was watching him, looked her way and grinned when he caught her eye. He put his hands in his pockets and sauntered over.

"We're natterin' on here, just messing around and jokin'," the Doctor said when he came up to the door. "Mick and John have gotten over being suspicious of me. That's Carlos, one of the extra guitar players, and Ray Lindsey, Lindsey's assistant. Imagine that, Lindsey's assistant has Lindsey for a last name, neat, huh?"

Rose chuckled at that.

"And Stevie's mates are in there as well. Sharon and Jana. Sharon's been on every one of Stevie's solo tours and was one of her best mates growing up and Jana filled in after Stevie's other best mate and sister-in-law, Lori left. See, I'm learning alot about our new friends."

"Well, I'm in here talking to Stevie and Christine McVie and Stevie's personal clothing assistant, Kim."

"Any juicy gossip?"

"No, Doctor, we're not in here exchanging juicy gossip," Stevie called out.

The Doctor and Rose laughed and the Doctor stuck his head inside.

"Blast, I was hoping to hear another titbit or two about you lot," he said to her.

"Nope sorry, not this close to showtime," Stevie teased. "And you tell Sharon and Jana to keep their mouths shut about me."

"Keep mum about the ma'am, gotcha!" Lindsey said, saluting with his index and middle fingers.

Stevie tapped Christine on the shoulder.

"Look, Chris, look at him," She said to her.

Christine turned in her seat. The Doctor waved at her and she waved back before looking at Stevie.

"Yeah, so?" Christine said to her.

"You know, I was thinking it's too bad we're too old for Cutie Pie there because we coulda had some fun with him."

Rose bent over laughing as the Doctor blushed a bright red. Christine and Stevie sniggered at that.

"Don't mind us, dear. This is how we act when we get together," Stevie said to him. "We've been friends since I joined this band and in many ways, we've never grown up."

"Eh, growing up is boring," Christine said. "Anyway, love, you're welcome to come in. We're both dressed now."

"Thank you," the Doctor said as Rose opened the door for him.

"There's Cokes, Sprites and water in the cooler," Stevie said, pointing to it.

"Thanks, Stevie, much appreciated," he said as Rose closed the door.

He walked over to the cooler and bent over to pull out a bottle of Coke. Rose giggled as Stevie nudged Christine and both of them leaned far back in their seats to ogle his rear end. When they saw him leaning back up, they quickly leaned forward and applied their makeup while Rose fought to keep from laughing. The Doctor, unaware that they had just stared at his butt, took the Coke back to the couch, slumped down beside Rose and chatted with her and the women while they waited for their band's cue to go to the stage.

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Ten minutes before they were supposed to take the stage, a couple of men from security took them out to the front row. Both of them were pleased when they realized they were front row center. Both of them also wore all access backstage passes so they would be allowed back after the show.

Fifteen minutes after they were shown to their seats, they heard a loud cricket-like chirping and the crowd went wild.

"I s'pose that's the cue to start the show?" the Doctor said to Rose.

His suspicions were confirmed when a moment later, the steady rhythmic beat of the bass drum thundered through the arena. Rose gasped as the sound vibrated her chest and the Doctor put his arm around her as the lights went up, the crowd cheered and the band began to play 'The Chain'.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Both Rose and the Doctor were enjoying the show. Rose laughed when the Doctor enthusiastically sang along to every song while he danced back and forth in place and Rose sang with him on the ones she knew. She was amazed at how much energy Stevie had at her age. She danced around, spun, kicked and rocked back and forth, causing her honey blonde hair to sway and dance around her face. She loved how much the crowd would get worked up and cheered her on and she loved the interplay between her and Lindsey. Looking at them and the way they gazed and smiled at each other, she found it hard to believe that they weren't together and her heart ached, knowing that these two people who loved each other so much could never be together except as friends. It also amazed her how many costume changes Stevie went through. Lindsey wore a red shirt, black jacket and black trousers but so far Stevie had worn the black dress, a wine colored sparkly dress and several shawls and she had changed from her boots to a pair of black platform plimsols. Looking at her, Rose suddenly realized why the woman needed Kim.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rose and the Doctor laughed hysterically as they watched them performing 'Tusk'. Near the end when the band was playing, Stevie and Lindsey were chasing each other around the stage. Stevie was going backwards keeping her eye on Lindsey who had a mischievous look on his face. They circled around and around each other like they were readying themselves for a fight and then suddenly they both opened their arms wide and walked towards each other. Rose smiled when they embraced each other tightly and slow danced around in a circle as the crowd cheered their approval. They stayed that way for a minute, seemingly lost in each other's arms and then they broke apart. Rose laughed when Lindsey pumped his fist in the air and ran back to his microphone to finish out the song. Rose looked at Stevie and saw the loving look she had on her face while she played her tambourine and she began to wonder if these little moments between them were there so they could get close to one another under the guise of performing for the crowd.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Halfway through the show, the lights dimmed and Stevie and Lindsey came out on stage together while the rest of the band took a break. Lindsey traded his electric guitar for an acoustic one and both of them stood in the center of the stage while Stevie addressed the cheering crowd through her microphone.

As you know, this is the part of the show where we take the time to thank everyone who's supported us over the years," she said.

The crowd's cheers increased and Rose giggled when she heard a man two rows back yell out, "Stevie, I wanna fuck you!" Rose laughed when Stevie glanced at Lindsey and he shrugged at that. Stevie turned her attention back to the audience.

"I'm sure you also know the song we're about to do now," Stevie said.

The crowd cheered.

"And as you know, I also make a special dedication to someone each night before we begin. And tonight, I wanna dedicate this song to two very special people that Lindsey and I had the privilege of meeting today."

Rose's eyebrows went up and she glanced at the Doctor. He grinned at her and slid his arm around her back.

"These two people come from very far away and they're very unusual to say the least," Stevie said as Lindsey grinned and nodded in agreement. "But just by visiting us and spending time with us, they've touched our lives more deeply than they could ever now. And I know I speak for Lindsey when I say that we both feel blessed to know them now. So…Doctor, Rose, this is for you."

The Doctor and Rose cheered along with the crowd when Lindsey launched into the opening notes of 'Landslide" and Stevie winked at them before singing the song. Both of them watched, mesmerized, as Stevie sang it. During the interlude when Lindsey played, Stevie walked behind him, put her hands on his shoulders and swayed with him while he closed his eyes and a slight smile played on his lips. She stayed there until it was time for her to sing again and then she walked back to her microphone.

"And if you see my reflection in the snoooooooow…covered…hills…"

Everyone cheered when Lindsey stopped playing and took Stevie's proffered hand, kissing the back of it as the crowd went crazy. He winked at her and resumed playing as Stevie finished out the song. The Doctor and Rose clapped enthusiastically when they were finished and took a bow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the end of the show, the band did two encores, 'Don't Stop' and 'Silver Springs'. The Doctor and Rose sang along with 'Don't Stop' and listened spellbound when Stevie sang 'Silver Springs'.

The Doctor grinned when Stevie sang directly to him when she got to the lyric, time cast a spell on you so you won't forget me and he smiled and nodded at that. Once the concert was over, they applauded and cheered with everyone else. Stevie took her bows with the rest of the band and then made eye contact with them. She pointed to two security guards and then walked over to talk with them.

"I think that means we're going backstage again," he said to Rose as the guards came over to them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Ban'shi was beside herself. This woman that she inhabited had the power to mesmerize an audience with her voice. She had witnessed it for the past two hours and even the Time Lord and the human child had been enthralled with her. She began to see that the woman could prove useful beyond a disguise, that perhaps if she melded her hypnotic voice with this woman's then together they could conquer planets and bring millions under her power. She knew then as she watched the crowd's adulation of this human female that she had made the right decision when she chose to possess her and not even the powerful Time Lord would be able to stop her once she set her plan in motion.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Backstage, the Doctor and Rose were led around by Stevie as she continued to make introductions to family and friends. After she was done, she led them over to a long table filled with food and drinks. Stevie filled up a plate with raw vegetables, took a small bowl of ranch drip and grabbed an ice water. Lindsey came up to the table and groaned when she saw Stevie's plate.

"Steves, for Christ's Sake, you're not a bunny. Live a little, will ya?"

"I'm not that hungry right now. I'm just eating something to settle my stomach. You go ahead and eat ten slices of pizza and get major heartburn afterwards, I'll pass."

Lindsey waited till she walked away and leaned over the table. The Doctor and Rose did the same.

"She says that. But she became addicted to Klonopin in the '90's and she was so sluggish and zombified from it that she gained about thirty pounds and the press savaged her mercilessly when she went on tour, calling her a whale and all that. She managed to lose the weight and personally I think she eats the bunny food because she's afraid of getting fat again. Lord knows why she should be so scared since the woman dances off all the calories she consumes and then some. But…try telling her anything…" he said, rolling his eyes while they laughed. "I'll risk a heartburn for a nice slice of pepperoni pizza. Unlike her, I'm not afraid of a little grease and melted cheese."

"Actually, I agree with you," the Doctor said, putting a slice of pepperoni pizza on his plate.

"Oh yeah, an alien who'll eat pizza, you're my type of guy," he said while they laughed. "Stevie and I talked and I think she wants you and Rose to spend the night with her. You can attend the second concert tomorrow night if you want. I think she's scared of the moment you'll leave us behind and frankly, I feel the same way. But you have an open invitation to her house tonight if you're interested."

"I think we'll take that invitation," the Doctor replied.

They laughed when Mick came up and shoved Lindsey hard.

"You're blockin' the pizza, Buckingham," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Me and McVie want to eat as well."

"You're gonna find it hard to eat with a fat lip, Fleetwood," Lindsey teased as he moved down and grabbed a handful of potato chips.

"He seems to think just because he's been with us for years that I can't sack him and throw him out on the street," Mick said to the Doctor and Rose while John came up beside Mick and grabbed a plate.

"P'eh, you tried going on without me and it was an unmitigated disaster," Lindsey teased him.

"He also likes to do crossword puzzles and that's why he feels he can use big words that make him sound smarter than he really is," Mick said to the Doctor and Rose. "He wouldn't know what unmitigated was if he didn't do his crosswords."

"I'll have a cross word with you in a moment if you don't move your fucking arse and let me get some food," John said to him.

The Doctor and Rose laughed when Mick stared at him with feigned shock. He looked at the Doctor and Rose.

"He's the quiet one of the group so it's a huge shock when the git opens his gob and speaks," he said to them while they laughed.

They laughed harder when Christine came up behind John and McVie gave Fleetwood a pointed look.

"Move!" John said, pointing past Mick's body. "Now there's a queue and Misses has to have her glass of chardonnay."

"And I'll beat you with the bloody bottle if you don't get out of my way," Christine said to Mick.

Lindsey finished getting his food. He grabbed a bottle of beer and walked over to the Doctor and Rose.

"If I were you, I'd come with me. When Christine starts beating people up with bottles, it isn't pretty," he said to them.

They followed him towards a large tan leather sofa. There was a similar one beside it where Stevie was sitting with Sharon and Jana, chatting with them while they ate. She smiled warmly at her friends as they walked up and sat down beside her. Stevie looked at the pizza, chips, dip and pretzels on Lindsey's plate and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Look at all those calories," she said.

Lindsey let out a long ragged sigh while the Doctor and Rose sniggered.

"Woman, leave me alone!" he said, jabbing his finger in her face. "You wanna eat vegetables, go right ahead, I'll die happy and content with clogged arteries, okay? Geez, Stevie, I'm not ten. I'll eat what I want, okay, mommy?"

Stevie winked at the Doctor and Rose while Sharon and Jana shared a look and stifled laughter.

"Did my son tell you about my offer to spend the night with me?" Stevie asked the Doctor and Rose.

"Yes, yes, he did," the Doctor said. "And we'd love to spend the night at your house."

"Good. Sharon and Jana are also staying with me and Karen, of course, and my dogs."

"So get ready for estrogen galore and fur on your clothes," Lindsey said to them.

"Nah, we'll have fun. We usually sit up and talk. I did tell my friends about your true identities but don't worry, your secrets safe with them," she said while Sharon and Jana nodded. "Once I finish eating, I need to go and change my clothes and make sure my outfits are secure since I've had people break into my dressing room in the past and take souvenirs and then we can take my limo back to my house."

"I would join you but Kristen wants me to stay with her tonight," Lindsey said. "But I will see you in the morning."

The Doctor didn't fail to catch the flash of anger in Stevie's eyes at the mention of Kristen's name. He suspected that Stevie was extremely jealous of Kristen for marrying Lindsey but he kept his opinion to himself since they were both adults and they could work that out between them if they wanted to. He was excited about spending the night in Stevie's house and chatting with her. He felt the same way as Stevie. He was also reluctant to leave as he was when he met really good friends on his journey's but he was a Time Lord and she was a singer and they had two different lives. Still, it was nice to kick back with the Queen of Rock and Roll for the evening and swap stories. He and Rose sat and ate quietly while Mick, John and Chris came over, pulled up leather chairs and sat and chatted with everyone.

By the end of the evening, Stevie and Lindsey had let their three bandmates in on the secret so they wouldn't be hostile towards them anymore. Mick, John and Chris were stunned but they believed Stevie and Lindsey's story and the Doctor promised to show them the TARDIS in the morning. By the end of the chat, all of them were laughing and teasing each other like old friends and the Doctor was glad that Stevie decided to tell them the truth since the atmosphere lightened up considerably once they knew they weren't a pair of nosy journalists.

After eating, everyone began to go home. Stevie told the Doctor and Rose to wait while she went to her dressing room to change. They nodded and hung out with the men while Stevie hugged Chris and told her she'd see her in the morning. Then she walked out and headed to her dressing room. Once she was inside, she headed to the folding screen so she could take off her heavy black dress and slip into some black suede trousers and a multicolored sweater. She took the dress off along with her boots and hose. She put on the sweater, trousers, black socks and black platform Reeboks. She left everything for Kim and then headed towards the door. On the way, she happened to glance in the mirror and she froze when she noticed the reflection wasn't her own. It was some odd looking woman with pale alien looking skin and long flowing white hair. Stevie stared at the reflection in silent shock while the woman smirked. Then she raised a slender arm and pointed a bony finger at her.

"You are mine!" she said in an otherworldly voice, "and you will obey me!"

Stevie let out a startled scream and ran out of the room as the woman's laughter echoed inside her head.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"Stevie!" Rose yelled as she and everyone else ran for her dressing room.

Mick, with his long legs, reached it first. To his relief, he found the door unlocked when he tried it and he flung the door open. Stevie was sitting on her sofa and Mick stopped, a confused look on his face while everyone else ran into the room.

"Stevie, love, are you alright?" Mick said. "We heard you scream."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Stevie said, annoyed. "A fucking roadie was hiding in here. He thought he'd be cute and try to scare me and ran out when I screamed. It's nothing."

"Which roadie?" Mick said angrily. "I want to sack his little arse for this!"

"No, it's fine, Mick. Just let it go," Stevie said, holding up her hand. "It's not like we did the same thing when we were younger. Just don't worry about it."

Everyone relaxed and Stevie stood up, apologizing for frightening everyone. She grabbed a black shawl from her clothes rack and put it around her. Mick put his arm around her and they followed everyone out of the room.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Well, here it is again, home sweet home," Stevie said as she let everyone into her house.

She smiled when Sulamith and Sara Belladonna sped towards her, their little tails wagging furiously. Stevie knelt down and let them lick her face before standing back up. She motioned to Karen who was standing several feet away.

"Karen, can you show our guests where they can stay and let them freshen up while we fix a small snack?" Stevie said.

Karen nodded and asked the Doctor and Rose to follow her while Stevie, Sharon, Jana and the dogs headed towards the kitchen.

"So, how long have you been Stevie's assistant?" the Doctor asked Karen while they followed her upstairs.

"Several years now," Karen said over her shoulder.

"Must be exciting," Rose said.

"Oh, it's a dream come true for me. I've always admired her since I was a little girl so it's a thrill being her personal assistant," Karen said.

She showed them a couple of guest rooms. Both of them were decorated in American Southwest with large king sized beds. Karen showed them where the bathrooms were and asked if they needed anything. The Doctor and Rose told her no and she told them to go ahead and come down to the living room when they were ready. The Doctor told Rose to take the room they were standing in while he took the one across the way.

"This is so brilliant," Rose said. "This is why I love traveling with ya. Meeting all these famous people and becoming friends with them."

"And getting to hang out with them in their houses," the Doctor added as he walked over to a teakwood bookcase and examined a few books. "I see Stevie is a fan of classic literature. Perhaps I can give her a first edition of one of these books as a gift."

"Doctor, do you think Stevie is alright?" Rose said, coming up beside him.

"Yes. Why? You don't think she is?" the Doctor said.

"It's just that…every time we try to go somewhere and land up somewhere else, something bad happens and I'm wondering if there was more to that scream than she let on."

The Doctor raised his eyebrow.

"You think she's lying about that?" he said.

"I don't know but usually when people scream, bad things are happening," Rose said.

"Or she could be telling the truth and someone was playing a prank. I realize we get into a lot of dangerous situations but I don't see why Stevie would lie. She doesn't seem like the type to do that, especially if she was in trouble."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Rose said. "I s'pose I've been around you so long that I expect the worst now."

"Well, if this is the worst," the Doctor said, waving his arm around the posh bedroom, "I'll take it. I'll suffer through torture like this."

Rose giggled and the Doctor squeezed her shoulder. He asked if she was ready to go down and Rose nodded. They walked back downstairs and by the time they got to the living room, the women were laughing and sipping wine while a large plate of nachos and melted cheese sat on the coffee table along with the bottle of wine and two wine glasses and some china plates and napkins.

"There's the alien," Sharon said, pointing to the Doctor. "Come and tell us stories about your travels!"

"Yes," Stevie said. "Tell us how you turn cows inside out and abduct people for weird experiments!"

The Doctor chuckled while the women and Rose laughed.

"Sorry everyone, I don't do that," he said. "But I can tell you about some of our travels through time and space."

"Pull up a chair then. Have some wine and nachos and tell us," Stevie said, gesturing to the coffee table.

The Doctor and Rose put some nachos on the plates and poured some wine. Rose sat on the large sofa with the other women while the Doctor sat on the floor. The dogs started to go to him but Stevie called them back and they walked over to her overstuffed chair and lay down beside it. For several hours, the Doctor and Rose told them about some of their adventures and Stevie and her friends listened in an enraptured silence. Eventually everyone stopped eating and Stevie and Karen lit some candles around the room and turned the lights off. The Doctor continued regaling them with his stories and when he finally finished one story and rested his voice, Stevie shook his head.

"I always thought there was extraterrestrial life out there but the variety of aliens that you've met and the adventures you've had is mind blowing, Doctor," she said to him. "How have you managed to stay sane?"

"I haven't," the Doctor said with a grin. "But I might ask the same of you after all you've been through."

"Touché," Stevie said while her friends laughed. "I suppose some people have the mental strength to go through Hell and some don't. I consider myself fortunate that I didn't end up insane."

"Same here," Rose said. "Sometimes I wonder how I managed to survive everything I've been through."

"You're a woman," Sharon teased. "We women are far stronger than any man!"

"Yeah, we women can withstand anything," Jana said.

"I suppose you're looking to me to disagree but actually I've had more women than men as companions and it's because I know women are stronger than they're made out to be."

"And he loves showing that to people," Rose said. "I didn't think I could do it and here I am, a pro at time travel."

"I wish I could do it full time," Stevie said wistfully. "But at my age and with my hip I'm lucky just to get upstairs."

They chatted for a few more hours before Sharon, Jana and Karen finally called it a night. Everyone wished them goodnight before they left the room.

"I'm a night owl if you hadn't guessed," Stevie said. "Staying up until the wee hours of the morning is routine for me. But…" she sighed. "I suppose I need my rest too before we go on stage tonight. I'm just glad you chose to come here and come here, as in LA. I feel so blessed that you wanted to see us in concert and took the time to sneak backstage."

She got up and Rose and the Doctor stood up and received her hugs and friendly kisses on the cheek.

"Karen usually rises before any of us so if you want breakfast, it'll probably be cooking when you get up," she said. "The house is yours though, make yourselves at home. Explore, oo and ah over my collection of awards that are gathering dust now."

She grinned and hugged them again after they laughed at that. As she turned to go, the Doctor and Rose didn't notice the evil grin spread on her face and the brief flash of golden light in her eyes before she left the room.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

After the Doctor bid Rose goodnight, he walked into his bedroom and walked around it, examining the room. The room was decorated in Southwestern style but there were a few personal mementos as well including some photographs on a dresser by the window. The Doctor walked over to them. They were all in silver frames and he picked them up carefully. Most of them were of Stevie when she was younger including some with her parents. And there were a few with Lindsey. He picked one up and chuckled when he saw a photo of her, Lindsey and another young man. The young man was standing in a doorway at the back and Lindsey was in the room giving Stevie an odd look while she leaned in from the side with an open mouthed look of surprise on her face. There was another of Stevie and Lindsey dressed in Halloween costumes. Stevie was dressed as a witch complete with black pointy hat. Lindsey had his short hair from his tusk period and was dressed as a priest. While he stared at them, he sensed someone behind him and turned his head.

"Couldn't sleep," Stevie said softly from the doorway.

"I don't sleep very much, hardly ever, in fact," the Doctor said. "Another example of how I'm not like humans. I was just looking at your photos."

"I have tons of them," Stevie said, coming into the room. "They're all over the house. Seems strange to have some in my guest bedrooms but Sharon thought they'd be decorative."

"I love this one of you being silly," he said, showing her the one of Lindsey, Stevie and the young man. "Where was this taken? And who is the other man?"

"The other man is Walter Egan. Sang Magnet and Steel?" Stevie said.

"Oh yes, I love that song," the Doctor said.

"He's a very close friend of me and Linds. That was taken in the house we shared together before we joined Fleetwood Mac. We were just being silly, I guess. You can tell Lindsey is thinking what the hell am I doing," she said while the Doctor chuckled. "We didn't have much back then but he had our friends and each other."

"That's worth more than money any day," the Doctor said.

"I agree," Stevie said.

"And is these your parents?" the Doctor said, putting that one down and pointing to another.

"Yeah, mom's still alive but dad's dead," Stevie said wistfully. "What about you? Do you have photos?"

"Not really. Not on me anyway," the Doctor said. "I keep my memories in the TARDIS databanks. Other than that," he tapped his temple. "I keep my memories here."

"You must have a ton of them if you're over 900 years old," Stevie said.

"I do but there are memories I keep tucked away in the deepest recesses of my mind where I can't remember them."

Stevie snorted.

"Wish I had that talent," she said. "There are many things in my life that I'd love to forget. It amazes me sometimes that I've made it to my sixties."

"Ditto," the Doctor said. "Well, I mean I've made it this far. I passed my sixties centuries ago."

"God, you're amazing," Stevie said. "I thought I'd seen it all in my life but then you come along and add a whole new dimension to my take on the universe. And to travel through time and space…how do you keep from messing up history?"

"I know what I'm doing…most of the time," the Doctor said when Stevie gave him a wry look. "But that was what I was born to do, travel time and space just as you was born to be a great singer."

"Yeah, but I'd still give anything to travel with you," Stevie said. "God, I sound pathetic, don't I? I keep hinting for you to take me with you when you leave," she said while the Doctor chuckled. "But that planet you took us to…that whetted my appetite for more. You never should have done that."

"Nah, I enjoy taking people on my journeys and showing them the universe. It keeps things fresh for me."

"Like Rose?"

"Like Rose," the Doctor said with a nod.

"I hope she stays with you for awhile, especially since you love her so," Stevie said. "You make a cute couple."

The Doctor grinned and thanked her. Stevie patted his arm fondly and told him she was going to try to go back to sleep.

"By the way," the Doctor said when she started to walk out. "I noticed your book collection there."

"Oh yeah, I have tons of those too," Stevie said, looking at the books.

"I noticed that you have many classic novels there and I was thinking of giving you the gift of a first edition of one of them," the Doctor said. "I have first editions of many books and if not I know where to get them."

"Doctor, you don't have to do that."

"I know but I want to. As thanks for letting us stay here," the Doctor said.

"Thanking me? I should be thanking you for visiting us. Your being here is thanks enough, you don't have to give me a gift on top of it."

"Sure?" the Doctor.

"Very sure, my friend. You and Rose being here is more than a gift for me."

The Doctor nodded and Stevie bid him goodnight before leaving the room. When she got back to her room, she walked over to a full length antique mirror in the corner and stared into it. Suddenly her eyes glowed again and the Ban'shi cursed under her breath. The Ban'shi had hoped to catch the Doctor in bed asleep and kill him. She didn't know the Time Lord barely slept and now she was going to have to think of something else to get him out of the way.

Although, the Ban'shi thought as a smirk crept over Stevie's face. I could always possess him instead of this weak, old human.

She got a sudden shock when she felt Stevie's consciousness try to take back over her body.

You won't hurt him, she heard Stevie think to her, I won't let you hurt him or Rose or whoever else you're thinking of hurting.

The Ban'shi chuckled at that but she staggered back when she felt the angry human's mind fighting the intrusion.

The Doctor will stop you, she thought to the Ban'shi, and so will I.

There was another jolt and the Ban'shi nearly lost her grip on Stevie's mind but she forced the consciousness back into the deep recesses of Stevie's mind and giggled insanely when she regained control.

"You are strong, human, but not strong enough," she said to the reflection. "And now, I think it's time for both of us to go to sleep. Because tomorrow I have work to do."


End file.
